People urged to self-isolate
(CNS): With the country on lockdown, the borders closing except for cargo in just a few days time, and businesses and government services switching to online or telephone services only, residents are being urged to self-isolate for 14 days if there is a possibility that any family members have been exposed to COVID-19. Cayman has had only one positive case and 24 negatives, though not many samples have been tested so far.
Government is making a real effort to contain the virus even before it knows the real infection rate, and self- or family-isolation is key to the strategy the CIG has adopted to try and keep the people of the Cayman Islands safe.
Anyone who has returned from overseas, as well as anyone who believes they may have come into contact with someone who has coronavirus, must go into isolation at home for 14 days, regardless of whether or not they are showing symptoms. This will also apply to everyone else in the household they will be living in.
Those showing symptoms of coronavirus, such as a cough, fever or shortness of breath, should self-isolate and contact the Flu Hotline on 1-800-534-8600 or 947-3077 to inform the Health Services Authority and seek medical advice, or contact their GP by phone.
During self-isolation families should limit their contact and maintain a 6-foot distance from the individual who is suspected of having coronavirus.
“If we don’t isolate the whole household, then the effect of isolating the individual is negated and the rest of the community is at risk,” said Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee.
The practices of self-isolating and maintaining social distancing have proven successful in halting the spread of coronavirus in other countries.
“Limiting any potential exposure to COVID-19 is our best defence against transmitting the virus,” Dr Lee explained. “Changing our behaviour may seem difficult or inconvenient but we must think about the most vulnerable in our community and do whatever we can to protect them.”
In other efforts to contain the potential spread of COVID-19, the Health Services Authority is cancelling all elective and non-essential surgeries and procedures, and is closing the General Practice Clinic at the hospital. All non-essential appointments will be cancelled to protect patients and minimise potential transmission.
The Acute Care walk-in clinic in the General Practice Building will remain open, but because the GP Clinic is always busy with many people close to each other, HSA CEO Lizzette Yearwood said it was safer to shut down non-essential services. However, district clinics will remain open.
“Cancelling these appointments will help us reduce the number of patients in the clinic at any given time, therefore lessening the chances of spreading any virus,” she said. “Many of our patients at the district clinics and those we treat at home are the elderly and vulnerable population, therefore HSA will continue these services to ensure those persons are still receiving care.”
However, officials are urging patients in the districts to remain at home if they do not need urgent medical attention.
Patients who require chronic medications refills are advised to call 949-8600.
Members of the public with flu-like symptoms or feel there is a risk they may have the disease are urged to contact the HSA at flu@hsa.ky or via the flu hotline 1-800-534-8600 or 947-3077 and a healthcare professional will conduct an initial triage over the phone. If a caller requires further medical attention, the hotline will refer them to the Flu Clinic located at the Cayman Islands Hospital.
For more information about minimising risk, visit the HSA website here (mobiles users visit the HSA website here) or the government coronavirus pages here .
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Category: Health, Medical Health
May be reading this NYTimes opinion would calm down some people. Opinions like this one could give you food for thought and or distract you from worries.
An Opinion. NYTimes. By John Allen Paulos
Mr. Paulos is a professor of mathematics.
Feb. 18, 2020
We’re Reading the Coronavirus Numbers Wrong
Up-to-the-minute reports and statistics can unintentionally distort the facts.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/opinion/coronavirus-china-numbers.html
“Numbers have a certain mystique: They seem precise, exact, sometimes even beyond doubt. But outside the field of pure mathematics, this reputation rarely is deserved.”
“..if the number of deaths — or the ratio of deaths to infections — jumps from one day to the next, does that mean the disease has just gotten more lethal? Or that it actually is more lethal than we thought it was the day before?”
America is now looking at a tripling of conoravirus cases every three days. Exponential growth. We have big problems with no solutions in sight.
Fresh air, sunlight and improvised face masks seemed to work a century ago; and they might help us now.
Coronavirus and the Sun: a Lesson from the 1918 Influenza Pandemic https://medium.com/@ra.hobday/coronavirus-and-the-sun-a-lesson-from-the-1918-influenza-pandemic-509151dc8065
loved the photos taken in 1918
That was a fascinating article; thank you!! I don’t doubt that the patients of 1918-20 also were aided by sunlight, and the Vit. D their bodies created.
I know that when I’ve contracted the seasonal flu, I always want to (a) bundle up and burn it out, and (b) sit outside for a while and bask like a lizard in the sun.
Are retired healthcare personnel or those who are mot currently working in healthcare but on island, going to be pressed into service??
8.54pm They would have to be pressed pretty hard!.
Unless they retired in their 30s, retirees would be the age group most at risk!
I am guessing that it is not health care workers, but beds/rooms and vents/equipment that become in short supply in places which have had a sudden influx of Covid-19.
Reading the reports of the doctors in Italy was heartbreaking. Here are men and women who’ve served their whole lives toward health services having to perform triage on patients, determining with a decision who lives or dies, mostly because of lack of ventilators and other lifesaving equipment.
Logistically, the Cayman Islands is years behind the rest of the world in pantry service delivery. Grocery/liquor stores need to make it easier to catalogue order and pay online for pickup. Many won’t accept payments over the phone and it’s not safe for delivery people to be walking around with thick billfolds of cash.
It will be a profound miracle of highest magnitude if we have managed to prevent Covid-19 from making a toehold here.
I have a few people expressing the response to the virus as being in the hands of the health services. Yes, and no. It is MORE in the hands of all of us. All around the world people failed to take the virus seriously until it was entrenched. It would be arrogant to suppose we would be any different, however, just imagine that we could all pretend that every surface, every person, every product in the stores, is infected with Covid. If we can just act that way for a few weeks/months, we might be able to get past it, at least this year’s go-round. We see a person that is obviously sick in public and we shun them, even before Covid. We need to treat everyone like that for just a while. Maybe more than a while.
Some of my contemporaries believe we can do without the elders, that it is a natural thing. I say to them, “There was a time where they could have done without you, and lived better for it, but they didn’t. Your elders grew up with responsibilities and they did whatever they had to do to shoulder them. You owe your elders your protection, and that means keeping yourself and others safe. It’s not too much to ask.”
But sunshine is the medicine that might be lethal for the virus and good for immune system. All office workers are vitamin D deficient because they are inside when vitamin D making sun frequencies are present. Therefore Beach access must not be restricted.
You can get sun in your yard – just go outside. Stop being a Prima Donna in a crisis.
We can lay all day in the sun and still not get enough sun to make the vitamin D we actually need. The other radiation bands are less helpful. D and B12 are two vitamins that must be supplemented by every human that is interested in optimizing their immune system. Your GP, nutritionist and dermatologist will all corroborate.
Although we know that too much sun exposure can be a factor in causing skin damage, many people are unaware that sensible sun exposure is a vitally important part of our overall health. That’s not just because sun exposure gives us Vitamin D, as many people are aware, but also because it helps to produce cholesterol sulfate.
“We propose a novel theory that atherosclerosis can best be explained as being due to cholesterol sulfate deficiency.”
“It was argued that an underlying deficiency in Ch-S, due principally to insufficient dietary sulfur and inadequate sun exposure to the skin, leads, over time, to severe depletion of cholesterol and sulfate in the tissues. ”
“Worldwide geographical data show an inverse relationship between cardiovascular disease and annual sunlight availability”
(source: A novel hypothesis for atherosclerosis as a cholesterol sulfate deficiency syndrome. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4456713/)
Let’s look at Italy. Population: 60 million. 3,000 have died. Fatality rate slowing down. In the unlikely event double that number end up dying, Italy death rate will be 0.01%. Apply same death rate to USA, you get 32,000 dead from coronavirus. According to the CDC, 80,000 Americans died of flu in 2017. Was it necessary to crash the economy, kill people’s jobs, or empty the supermarkets ? This is mass hysteria, fueled by irresponsible “experts” who don’t know or use math) and the media.
So can someone tell me that 30,000 annual deaths from the virus are more tragic than 80,000 from flu?
How about near a million people dying from all other causes? Are their deaths less tragic?
The medieval world survived the BUBONIC PLAGUE with all those malnourished, uneducated peasants wandering around coughing on each other. I think we’re going to make it.
I remember that in my past life. I was a peasant in France.
c’est le vie…
la …
Mange Tout, Rodders…
Most of us were once peasants and slaves in past life’s. Some of us still are.
Politicians are either in agreement with and part of the hysteria or in a position to be blamed for every death if they don’t fall in line with the hysteria created by the media and those politicians that are loving this. Unfortunately there are enough low info people that don’t know any better one way or another. The same people who bought into this will grant governments unlimited power when they no longer have jobs, money or any hope of recovery. The covid-19 is not a hoax. The demanded reaction to it and the politics behind it is the hoax.
The statistics on death due to the virus don’t lie. Nearly 3,000 deaths in Northern Italy this week.
So brilliant 6:21, what is suppose to be the reaction to the virus?
What is the hoax? Oh I know brilliant one, it is the Democratic Party. They want to kill millions. You are a fool. Stop watching Fox News.
A month ago on Fox News everything about the coronavirus was a total hoax perpetrated by the Democratic Party. Now in the last few days a total reversal. Why? Because half a dozen of the Fox News staff have come down in NYC with the coronavirus with a couple having major symptoms.
Suddenly, Rupert Murdoch and his sons, who own Fox and who have diversified financial interests in the capitalist system are suffering financially.
The Murdoch’s have been hit severely in their pocketbook and the gig is up with Fox and their disinformation campaign. Trump is now in over his head and the Murdoch’s realise their interests are being hurt and Trump is screwing up royally. Time to kill the Emperor wearing no clothes.
The hard questions are now being thrown. Thank God. May the lies and distortions stop.
It’s possible the ignoramae of your ilk, won’t fully grasp the global triage situation until the doctor advises you and/or your loved ones to join the room of people they can’t spare equipment to help. In Lombardia, where just two weeks ago they thought like you, they are using a 65 and older comorbidity cutoff for members of that grizzly death room. That’s why 475 people died just in last 24hrs there. Best of luck to you catching up.
Thank you. Somehow the bird brain figures the most deaths in one day equals a decline. Trump University perhaps?
As of today 7 in the GT Hospital 4 on its ways (Goverment 11), the CMO said at the press conference that Health City has 20 total 31, and Doctors Hospital (CTMH) could have a similar or less than Health City. Do you imagine? In an epidemic of this magnitude, so lethal (10 to 20% of patients could get a severe disease with lower respiratory track serious involvement) where assisted or controlled (ICU protocol) is needed as advanced life support. 300 to 400 cases of “Common Flu” went to HSA clinics in the last 3 weeks (epidemic), pls consider it the tip of the iceberg (epidemiologically speaking), what is under the line is 10 hidden cases x each 1 in the surface =4000 infected persons, of this 10% could get a severe Acute Respiratory Infectious Disease= 400, estimated 200 could be in critical condition needing intubation and ventilation. Who is the CMO, who is Samuel Williams Rodriguez and the HSA CEO and the Government that he advice to be playing Russian Rulette with our health and life?
I have said,
Brown Freeman (MD)
Ps. What about agressive active testing as I have mentioned before? No one put this flat hard question to the CIG “health adviser Dr. Rodriguez and Dr. Lee. When the Angel of the death pass through here, like in Egypt in time of Moses, I will publish a research paper based on simple statistics of dead per household naming the cause: Rodriguez-Lee-Yearwood Pneumonia.
Same as we have in medical practice the Rocky Mountain Fever, Meningitis of San Luis etc.
How can you possibly do aggressive testing when there are not enough testing kits to go around?
We’re Reading the Coronavirus Numbers Wrong
Up-to-the-minute reports and statistics can unintentionally distort the facts. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/opinion/coronavirus-china-numbers.html
475 died in Italy today Einstein. The most in one day yet. Why don’t you share your deadly knowledge intimately with someone with flu symptoms and stay off public forums.
In the mean time, Trump is looking for people like you to run his mis-information campaign.
Elderly population which was on its way out anyway
CNS: Ignoring the mind blowing callousness of this comment, it appears that the virus is now making younger people very sick too.
We’re all on our way out junior. Are you waiting for some of daddy’s money?
And can’t be bothered to visit him in the Pines.
I give a like to CNS about the ignorance or bad faith of the Anonymous 11:50 am.
The cases are more than 200,000 w.wide, the deaths are 4% and climbing. Dr. Poland of the Mayo Clinic was discussing some interesting statistics in the USA and confirmed that 20% of infected patients there are between 20 to 40 years old.
The mortality is growing in younger patients as more TESTING is done and the cause link it to-CoVID 19.
Once again, i am dismayed with the neglicting -to say the less- approach of the CMO Lee and PH Officer Rodriguez when downplaying the importance of TESTING as a way of identify virus carriers (real spreaders) -HIGH ACTIVE TRANSMISSION- ,as a way to isolate them before more and more people get community infected, and as a way to early treatment to avoid severe disease and increased rate of deaths. It is proven that apparently healthy people are carrying the virus, seeding it in communities with history of not travel and contact with sick patients.
Dr. Rodriguez, capriciously, has said today that there is not need to test the 300+ patients with Acute Respiratory Infection (its obvious that he is reading our posts and arrogantly responding from power at the press briefings), Patiens seing in the last 3 weeks and climbing, a gross mistake and lack of knowledge and temerarious manipulation of facts. What he knows about Epidemiology and Management and Control of Epidemics? When the world at large, the well trained medical science community (experienced, highly proven skills with credible demonstrated background and researches and publications i.e. Dr. Fauci, Dr. Collins, Dr. Poland, and WHO Dr. Tadros) are saying Test in order to know your epidemic situation, rate of infection, transmission, pick of sick infected, patients to isolate as the only way to stop this deadly Epidemic at any local community, Pandemic at a world stage, and most important for early treatment to reduce deaths. Whose interest these doctors are serving,?
Again another gross neglection, our students coming in from highly affected (by CoVID 19) areas, as a Medical Doctor in charge of Public Health you have to order a mandatory quarantine and TEST of all them, ISOLATED the +s to avoid serious risk to the wider community. Mr. Rodriguez do you remember all the baseball you were playing in year 5 at the Medical School in the Municipal Hospital “Heroes del Baire” in your Islands of Pine? Reason among orhers (like lack of solid basis an infrastructure as teaching hospital for that small health facility in a very small Islands without University) that Epidemilogy passed for you but you were not paying attention to it. Man come on, and i know that you very avid are reading these comments, do you know the receipe for disaster that you are prescribing when no Testing all these high risk of infection students?
Who will answer, morally and legally to the people of these Islands, that have adopted you, when this mismanagement would result in suffering, losses and evitable deahts? We will hold you and your cronies accountable.
I excuse the Premier because he is not a Dr. But his sister is, and she is a proud born Caymanian who knows medicine. Pls cronies or yourself Alden, OPEN YOUR EYES, almost is too late.
The media has been to linient, to pleasant with this mismanagement, with the lack of clarity, lack of transparency and lack of scientifically proven disclossure, it looks like the media or is affraid to put tough serious questions or is in bed witn the establishment and not serving its function.
Wake up Cayman, we can do much better.
I have said,
Brown Freeman (MD)
Look Doctor, don’t you get it? There are not enough testing kits on island and more are not coming for some time.
Doctor Freeman, did you get your degree at Trump University?
Like Trump you would say tests are available for anyone who wants one. Fact is that thousands in NYC and New Jersey can’t get tested.
The most important question is not about me or about my primary, potgraduated and maestry qualifications, not about my solid performance teaching, research and on the field experience, including Africa.
It is abour my crystal clear flag (messages).
There you go.
The Public Health Authorities are saying they secure 400 and that WHO as them how many Cayman Islanda needs, and that WHO is sending them 6,000 kits. This was said by Dr. Rodrigez at a press conference last week.
Or is him and company speaking by both sides of the mouth?
Are we being mislead by a buch of inept?
I have said,
Brown Freeman (MD)
Ah yes. The BUBONIC PLAGUE. Good times. A great quality of life to model. Good one. You had me going there for a second….
Wrong, Italy just experience it worst death toll in one day TODAY – 475. The fatality rate IS NOT slowing down. Please stop spreading fake news that makes it sound like this isn’t a big deal. It is and naysayers like you aren’t helping.
Remind me of the proportion of the world population thought to have perished in the Black Death? Which brought on the dark ages and almost extinguished culture and learning, setting back development in Europe for hundreds of years. We should be so lucky, right. Yeah, nothing to worry about.
How about the Spanish flu in 1920, reduced the world population by 50 million.
We are well on our way to 50 million.
GLOBALLY – Over 250,000 cases and over 11,200 deaths
USA – Over 16,500 cases and 216 deaths
Source: John Hopkins Medical University
UPDATE
GLOBALLY – Over 284,000 cases and over 11,900 deaths
USA – Over 18,900 cases and 270 deaths
Source: John Hopkins Medical University
Evening Update
GLOBALLY – Over 300,000 cases and over 12,800 deaths
USA- Over 24,000 cases and 300 deaths
Source: Johns Hopkins Medical University
Mortality rate is NOT slowing down. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1099375/coronavirus-cases-by-region-in-italy/
You are extrapolating numbers on a curve of which nobody yet knows the mean or standard deviation. We — all of us — will know better six months from now. Right now, the growth of Covid-19 infections is geometric in some places. It is also not known if Covid presents enough of a presence to the body as to create a solid immune response. For all we know, it could come back again and again, and the RO number supports that possibility.
I think we need to treat it as a serious pandemic, and if all of us are wrong and it turns out to be not as much as feared, then we can all be happy.
Your view that humanity will always survive really does nothing to help the situation or our elders. Of COURSE we will survive this. Are you willing to temporarily change your life and lifestyle in order to help prevent deaths? I am.
I support you 1000% , you know statistic, a big sister for Epidemiology, the authorities leading this Crisis here have not idea about statistics’ meaning and much lees about Epidemiology and it use in and during an Epidemic. Pls read my comments, i have been loud warnning for 3 weeks now but here they not listen.
Brown Freeman (MD)
Where did you get fact that fatality rate is slowing down? Stop watching the disinformation on Fox News.
NYC is looking at 1,000 new coronavirus cases a day. Those are only the ones tested. Testing kits in short supply in NYC. Stop pushing the Fox News line. The situation is very serious in New York State, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It is NOT / NOT getting better with shortages of ventilators, masks, medical gowns and soon hospital beds.
Yes we will survive but millions are going to die if the rate of infection continues.
Stop watching Fox News. Their information is NOT / NOT factual.
Fatality rate slowing down in Italy? 700 deaths today there. Stop watching Fox News.
Cayman is located in too warm of a climate to be conducive to community spread. The University of Maryland conducted a statistical analysis of the community spread of the virus and their results are that it is only in areas of a certain temperature and humidity level around the world that is at risk.
The extreme measures being taken in these places is very justified but they are not in an area like Cayman.
https://www.umaryland.edu/news/archived-news/march-2020/researchers-predict-potential-spread-and-seasonality-for-covid-19-.php
Good to know if it is true. Nobody is dying from the virus in Alaska by the way.
They are dying in Singapore too – not the coldest environment on the planet ( hotter than here at the moment).
The 86 year old Republican congressman in Alaska calls it the “beer virus” and is busy supporting the NRA and concerned Washington is going to take away Alaskans guns. Go figure?
The best way to stop the spread, is to not spread it.
Wash, disinfect, and stay at home, it is up to each one of us.
It’s just a hypothesis- even the people doing the study say “it seems …” Are you willing to risk lives, including your own, for “it seems?”
Iran?
That you Forrest?
Another fine graduate from Trump University.
CNS, please can you re-write your 1st sentence. We are NOT on lock-down. Yes our borders are closing, yes restaurants, bars etc are closing, but we are NOT in lock-down (yet). Do you actually know what lock-down is – look at France, Spain etc – they are not allowed out of their houses without permission or will be arrested/fined!!! we do still have the ability to roam (although urged not to). No I am not going out unnecessarily, but I am also not locked down.
I do however wish/urge people to stop going out unnecessarily, because the more who abuse the social distancing measures we have at the moment, will be the ones who put us in a lock-down situation
Self-Imposed Voluntary No BS Lockdown, then.
Better?
We will be on mandatory lockdown soon enough I suspect – it is what is happening in many other places. Once we have a case of community spreading – and we will – I would think we’d have to go on lockdown. Let’s hope though that it really doesn’t like Cayman’s heat and humidity and it doesn’t spread like Italy and Spain.
Why wait. We can avoid any risk if we do it now – in three weeks we could at least declare these Islands safe and then take it from there.
We need to get all of those students back an in isolation first.
You are simply playing with semantics 4:09. Get a life.
I believe our Honourable Speaker is leading by example and has already isolated himself (at least from the L.A.).
At least some good has come out of this.
And then invites community leaders and press around for a discussion on the crisis.
He has not got the message on distancing yet. Message has not got to West Bay. Post Office shut down.